Ah, finally some real darkness on Legend of the Seeker. Not since the Season One finale have things gotten so intense and violent as they got in "Fury" and the result was easily the best episode of Season Two so far. On top of all that, I think the nature of this season has finally become clear. Whereas Season One was all about stand-alone adventures, character development and a clearcut central arc, Season Two is a lot more meta in its trajectory. We're exploring what makes these characters tick and generally how the Sword of Truth world works. After only a few quick references last season, "Fury" dug its blood-soaked hands into the frightening duality of the Seeker and the implications it has for his supposed heroism.

More than once I've written about how uncomfortable it feels to have a main protagonist who is a magical killer fueled by rage. The Seeker is a blunt tool. He gets angry, he draws his sword and something, be it destiny or magic or a village of peasant victims, throws him at a problem so he can kill it. I'd be interested to see one dedicated fan actually tally Richard's body count since the start of the series. Is he as bad as Rahl or the Keeper? Not by a long shot, but he ain't Ghandi, either. To make matters worse, he's the scion of a bloodline that tends toward murderous tyranny more often than not.

So, when The Magical Compass of Plot inexplicably directs our heroes to a village of peaceniks, it's only a matter of time before Richard's historically poisonous touch turns a good portion of them into unrepentant berzerkers. Long story short, Richard's ancestor put some bad juju on a caste of warriors that made them follow along in his violent rage. Some ancient wizard put a spell on them to block this magic, but the present-day retinue lifts it on a handful of them when an army of slavers roll into town. Now Richard's got a band of wild marauders who stoke the flames of his own considerable anger, cutting a bloody swathe across the region in search of a vague, overblown revenge against the medium-cruel slavers.

After a tense immersion therapy scene in which Zedd trains Richard to control his anger, things aren't 100% hunky dory. Even though Richard has proved that he can turn the Sword of Truth's glowing rage thingy on and off at will, the fact remains that he's still a magical monster of titular fury from a long line of right bastards. Zedd isn't convinced that Richard's got everything under control and I, for one, am glad he doesn't. Richard Cypher/Rahl isn't an interesting character when he's self-righteous, he's interesting when he's dangerous and broken. It's telling that, in this episode, Cara was the character who seemed most reasonable. Compared to her traveling companions, she's almost harmless. Zedd is a powerful wizard who has demonstrated a willingness to do some pretty macabre stuff, Kahlan's stock and trade is the destruction of souls and a mindless state of magical kill-all colorfully known as Blood Rage, and Richard is descended from dictatorial madmen with a propensity for genocide. All things considered, Cara's manipulative S&M warrior isn't all that scary.

Best Moment: The attack on the village. It was by far the most brutal scene in the series so far and it completely blurred the line between Richard's heroism and his dark methods.

Notes: It's becoming increasingly apparent that Bridget Regan is the only regular cast member on Seeker who has a natural American accent. Bruce Spence stumbles every now and then, Tabrett Bethell cracks every single episode without fail and now Craig Horner is really starting to lose his grip. Personally, I don't mind when actors are allowed to use their real voices for a role, but since this show is already committed, it desperately needs a dialect coach.

Episode Rating: 4.5/5- I really liked this one. The pop psychology scene toward the end was a bit over-the-top, but the stripe of doubt in the closing minutes rescued it from being a stupidly quick fix. Let's hope this is Legend of the Seeker hitting its stride.